President Bola Tinubu, on Sunday in Nairobi, Kenya, reaffirmed Africa’s unity and strength while strongly rejecting the notion of a new scramble for Africa.

The president was speaking at the 5th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (5thMYCM) of the African Union (AU), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Regional Mechanisms (RMs) and the African Union Member-States.

Mr Tinubu also said the ECOWAS plans to strengthen its regional Standby Force to deter coups and combat terrorism in the sub-region.

As the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government chairperson, the Nigerian leader highlighted the progress ECOWAS made in various sectors of its integration process.

In his statement entitled: “Address on Status of Regional Integration in ECOWAS,” he emphasised the need for Africa to overcome its challenges and work toward a prosperous future, focusing on inclusive growth, good governance, and leveraging the opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Calling for good governance to ensure a prosperous future for Africa, free from the exploitations of the past, Mr Tinubu said: “As Africans, we forge ahead no matter the barriers thrust before us.”

Mr Tinubu emphasised that global difficulties affect the world economy if nations are passive observers of fate,” he said.

On peace, security, and stability, the Nigerian leader acknowledged the challenges faced by the sub-region, including terrorism and anti-constitutional changes in government.

”We cannot integrate Africa and attain the prosperity we seek while our nearby brothers and sisters suffer in pain and anguish; they should not suffer. We must advance as one continent toward peace and prosperity.

”Otherwise, we risk the creation of two or more Africa, one a select group of nations moving steadily while the rest remain trapped in the age-old mire of poverty, conflict and lack of hope,” he said.

Mr Tinubu decried the situation where African countries were confronted with terrorism and the reversal of democratic gains through undemocratic government changes.

He said that to address the challenges, the ECOWAS Authority had directed the enhancement of the region’s Standby Force for deployment to fight terrorism and undemocratic changes in government.

”The authority has also resolved to raise our own funding internally to finance the peace support operations in our community. Meanwhile, we have continued to monitor the transition programmes in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, ” he said.

Mr Tinubu recounted that during the recently concluded ECOWAS Summit in Bissau, West African leaders resolved to maintain engagement with Mali and Burkina Faso toward implementing the 24-month transition calendars agreed with ECOWAS.

Nonetheless, to assist Burkina Faso and Mali in defending their territories from occupation by terrorists, he said ECOWAS had decided to support their security agencies.

He appealed to international partners to provide the necessary support to restore democratic order in these Member-States.

On trade, the president said ECOWAS had achieved the Free Trade Area and was working on establishing the Customs Union and Common Market.

However, he expressed concern about the low level of intra-community trade among member-states, noting that the European Union remained the major trading partner for the region, followed by Asia, North America, and the rest of Africa.

Highlighting efforts to consolidate the gains of its trade liberalisation scheme and support the implementation of the AfCFTA, the Nigerian leader said the ECOWAS Commission had been assisting member-states in the negotiations, ratification, and implementation of the AfCFTA.

He noted that 13 of the 15 ECOWAS member states had ratified the agreement.

On the free movement of persons, Mr Tinubu said that ECOWAS had commenced action toward the implementation of the Harmonised Visa-Regime (ECOVISA) to facilitate the free movement of non-ECOWAS citizens.

On regional infrastructure development, Mr Tinubu reaffirmed ECOWAS’ focus on building regional infrastructure, including the Lagos-Abidjan Corridor Highway, to promote economic activities and integration.

Regarding intra-regional cooperation, the president informed the meeting that a joint border post between Nigeria and Cameroon was recently commissioned and handed over in November 2022 to the two countries authorities.

Mr Tinubu also provided an update on the energy sector, expressing delight that several generation and inter-connection projects had been implemented within the region.

(NAN)